By Michael P. Ehline, Esq. - The court system is under attack. In Los Angeles civil cases, attorneys (click here), are expected pay for a court of record, judges are not allowed to accept county funds as supplemental pay, many govt and private firms across the U.S., are expected to look into whether outsourcing of some public defense cases can save money. Will Outsourcing Help The Disadvantaged? The need for fairly defending low-income defendants, and paying enough lawyers to provide representation has risen. Out-side counsel for low-income defendants, when there are multiple conflicts of interest can actually increase the costs. Multiple conflicts include situations where a there is a divorce with custody issues or a criminal case which has multiple defendants. The County takes two … [Read more...]

By accident lawyer Michael P. Ehline, Esq. - Many of my readers know that I have struggled with the death penalty issue for quite some time. Although I agree a brutal killer deserves death, I have seen many examples from recent history in the U.S., as well as the not so recent history in the UK, of families fighting for and proving the innocence of family members who had been falsely accused and put to death. (Click here and here.) This came full circle to me after the California Proposition to end the death penalty retroactively, was on my official absentee ballot. So I wanted to write about an example of how false evidence can cause a serious violation of rights, lead to the tort of false imprisonment, and expose why the death penalty is probably not a good idea in most cases. Two … [Read more...]

How Am I Affected? By Ehline Law Firm PC - Unless you are an Italian citizen joining in the class-action lawsuit, it probably will not directly affect you, with the exception of calls from concerned parents, grandparents, an aunt, uncle or even a work colleague. The Italian Supreme Court has ruled that there is a link between cell phone use and brain tumors. When looked at objectively, it doesn’t really mean much, unless you are Italian and join in the class-action lawsuit and recover an award. The Italian Supreme Court had no new information to base their decision, on this controversial idea that cell phones are bad to use health wise. There are several points that can be used to reassure anyone that might have concerns about you using your cell phone. First You Can Explain … [Read more...]

By attorney Michael Ehline: This is a little different than my normal discussions. But it reminds me of a bar exam question. The background is that prior to de-segregation, when South Africa had low crime and a strong economy, it was taken for granted that the terms and conditions of a trust contract would be honored. But now, some contractual terms are being challenged as racist as there is less money and hungry institutions trying to get bursary money. In fact, just the other day, according to a South African Supreme Court of Appeal ruling, an individual has the right to give bursaries specifically to white students. A bursary is defined as a monetary award given to an educational organization, like a college, individual or a group, to help assist a student in development of of his or … [Read more...]

By personal injury attorney, Michael P. Ehline, Esq. I am always culling the web and the journals trying to find information on motor vehicle accident injury causation. Sometimes the vehicle itself can be a primary cause, or factor in your your injuries, or lack thereof. Some cars are safer than others. According to the insurance company the Highway Loss Data Institute has looked at insurance data for vehicles between the model years of 2009 through 2011. The insurance industry study named vehicles with the highest injury claims. The vehicles named are smaller cars and the information is an important addition to the crash tests that are done by the federal safety regulators. Senior vice president Kim Hazelbaker at the Highway Loss Data Institute said that the injury claims data shows … [Read more...]